Hidden Knights (Knights of the Realm #3) - Jennifer Anne Davis Page 0,58
the dead. You know, figuratively speaking.”
“How can I be related to someone like her?” Reid asked. And just like that, she understood what bothered her the most. Was Reid inherently evil like her mother? Would she become bitter like her one day?
“You’re your own person. You choose how you behave.” He glanced up and down the hallway. “You don’t suppose we could get out of here? Maybe we can go to a tavern for a bit?”
While that sounded like just what she needed, she didn’t think it wise to leave the safety of the castle with all the turmoil going on. “Actually, I have an idea. Follow me.”
Reid led Harlan up the stairs to the royal family’s wing.
“What are we doing?” he asked, trying to keep up with her.
Glancing over her shoulder to be sure no one followed them, she whispered, “Investigating.”
Harlan groaned. “Reid.” He pulled her to a stop. “Tell me what’s going on. Who don’t you trust? We can leave the castle if you want.”
“That’s not it.” She trusted everyone who was currently in the castle.
“Then what is it?”
Not wanting to say it out in the open, she nodded down the hallway. “Come with me.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fine.”
She reached the door to the king’s private chambers, assuming Harlow’s room was attached to it. The locked door wouldn’t budge. Unfortunately, picking a lock was not one of her skills.
“Do I even want to know what you two are up to?” Leigh asked as she glided down the hallway.
“No, you don’t,” Harlan responded. “Come on Reid, let’s go.”
“I want to investigate. Do you have the key?” Whenever Reid was around Leigh, she got the feeling the woman didn’t much care for her. However, given the vast changes over the past couple of weeks, she hoped Leigh had warmed up to her enough to give her the key to Eldon’s rooms.
“Harlow keeps a key sitting on top of the doorframe,” Leigh said. “Ackley told me he already combed through Eldon’s room.” She lifted her hands, palm up, in a silent question.
“We’re going to look through Harlow’s,” Reid answered.
Leigh nodded. “Let me know if you need anything else.” She continued down the hall, stopping outside her own bedchamber a moment later. Maybe she intended to start cleaning the mess in there.
Reaching up, Harlan felt along the doorframe until he found the key. After unlocking the door, he put it back.
Reid stepped inside the king’s private sitting room. This was where Eldon had first asked her to go to Axian to retrieve the letters for him. Shivering from the memory, she moved farther into the room. Off to the side were two doors leading to the king and queen’s bedchambers.
Harlan whistled. “This is fancy.”
The sitting room reminded Reid of a room from the palace in Axian. She went over to the first bedchamber, peering inside. The large four-poster bed had a light green bedspread and a handful of pillows situated at the head, perfectly aligned according to size. At the foot of the bed was a chaise lounge. Reid entered, afraid to touch anything. Two armoires, one chest of drawers, and two chairs were also placed in the room. A soft area rug woven from light blues and greens adorned the floor.
Reid stood there for several minutes, observing her surroundings. Everything looked perfect. Too perfect. Which meant she was missing something. Whatever she was searching for wouldn’t be in plain sight. Unsure of where to start, she scanned the room again, trying to see it from Harlow’s point of view. If Reid were the queen, where would she put her personal items she didn’t want anyone else to see?
“What do you want me to do?” Harlan asked from the threshold of the room, not stepping a single foot inside.
“I’d like for you to search the king’s room.”
“Didn’t Ackley already do that?”
“Yes. But Ackley knows Eldon. I’d like you to take a look, too.”
His shoulders rose and fell. “What am I looking for?”
“Correspondence, maps, anything you feel might be useful.”
He nodded, then left, mumbling something.
Seeing no other way, Reid started searching under the mattress, in drawers, through the closet, behind the curtains, and in the hearth. She didn’t find a single personal item. This room could easily belong to a guest instead of the queen. When she had first met Harlow, Reid had considered her a mindless young woman who didn’t know anything. How wrong she’d been. Otherwise, the queen wouldn’t have warned Reid, nor would Harlow have known her